Private Stay With Me Goose

[Judah Dashiell]

Ceto , Serene Island Chain | Thessa Kai , Young Fliers Flight School
​

Humid. Tropical. Sweltering.

Judah had gotten used to such environments over the years. Tended to happen when one had a son who was half-aquatic and craved an ocean climate. Just because he was used climate didn't mean he didn't sweat and mentally complain. Sitting on the beach under swaying trees was nice ; hard, manual labor in tropical humidity was another. Having lived on a space station for a number of years, it only heightened things.

Good things he had plans to move back sea-side.

Yet he wasn't here to check out real estate. His ex-wife had called him in to assist in a small task ; find some students that had gone missing. Judah found it odd, it was a quiet region, yet pirates and criminals were always a threat. Especially now, using chaos in the Core worlds to their advantage. While Ceto may be far-flung, it didn't mean that impacts of a large influx of displaced people throughout the galaxy weren't felt.

Stepping out of his Santhe Challenger, hand ran through shaggy salt-and-pepper hair as he descended the ramp into the hangar. It was the first time he had visited his ex-wife's business, and he was impressed. Large but not imposing, it definitely felt like her. After all Thessa had been through, there was an element of pride on his part, that she was finding a new life in the 'verse.

"Anyone home?"

Voice called out into the large space, currently only occupied by various fighters and atmospheric vessels.

 

[Thessa Kai]

Thessa rounded the corner of a parked x-wing wearing a flight suit with the school’s logo on the back and an insignia on the front. It was navy blue with aqua accents. Perfect for Ceto. At least that’s what the designers had told her. She learned pretty quickly she couldn’t do everything she wanted to do when starting the small business. She had to hire experts to fill the gaps.

And she was thankful for her team. It gave her other time to focus on her strengths and do the things she wanted to do.

Blaster was strapped high on her right thigh and a tool belt was snuggly around her waist. Hair braided back loosely with some grey streaks from a life well earned.

“Judah,” relief crossed her scale-speckled face as she greeted her ex. “Thanks for coming on short notice. Everyone is out looking but,” she looked toward the hangar exit. At the partly cloudy blue skies of Ceto.

“Figured it couldn’t hurt to have another set of eyes. They’re just kids,” light eyes snapped back to Judah full of worry.

 

[Judah Dashiell]

"Oh, no problem. Happy to help."

Judah was out of his suit today, simple dark pants and a plain light colored shirt to hopefully keep the Ceto sun from baking him alive. Humidity was already causing sweat to form down his back and it was only going to get worse from here. His boots were silent against the ground as he moved closer to the hangar doors, open to the beautiful tropical landscape outside.

"Kids...we're taking about under sixteen, right? Also, how many?"

He was trying to clarify. He still called his own son and Myra 'kids' but they were fully fledged adults. Judah wanted to get a rough idea of what they were working with.

Shaggy head craned around the space, searching as he turned his back to the entrance and searched the ceiling and corners of the hangar. His eyes weren't the best and the contrast as a bit rough ; at least he knew why now. Apparently distant Hapan lineage and inbreeding. Makai had informed him only just recently, which explained why the boy wore glasses at night now.

"You have security cams in here? If not, I'm buying you an entire system..."

Thessa Kai

 

[Thessa Kai]

"Fifteen and sixteen. Ashleen and Auro. They're sisters and have been with us the past year. A good bit of raw talent." Thessa followed his gaze. A small frown on her lips. "No...we haven't needed them. It's a good idea."

Her head shook even as she stepped forward.

"They were out over the islands a few clicks away. We have their last transmission coordinates. I've already flown over the area a few times. But I figured it couldn't hurt if we went together? Check it out? They were flying pretty close to an unmapped area." It was the Ceto Triangle. Something to do with the signal or maybe metal in the islands and rocks. No one really knew why but water vessels tended to disappear around that area since the natives colonized this world. Airships were usually okay but Thessa had always forbidden her fliers from going anywhere near there.

It just wasn't worth it.

"And we can discuss payment of any security system later. You good to take your ship?"

 

[Judah Dashiell]

"Payment?No payment. Consider it a late birthday gift."

Ceto Triangle was an issue. Metals interfering with sensors and tricky winds and currents were thought to be at play. Of course, there were also superstitions that had been around since the dawn of the earliest settlers on Ceto. Judah gave the area wide berth himself, not wanting to risk any more bad luck than he already had in life.

"Of course. Let's go. You should fly, you're a better pilot than I. Don't worry, if we crash I have insurance."

There would be taking 'no' for an answer, heading up into the luxury vessel and taking his spot as co-pilot. Leather and exotic wood paneling graced the cockpit, quite different than most ships. He had the vessel for some time ; although he would be surprised if Thessa Kai remembered something so trivial as a ship.

 

[Thessa Kai]

“Judah Dashiell,” Thessa chided as she lead the way into his ship. It was nice. So nice, she was almost afraid to touch anything. “We’ll discuss money later.”

And she shot him a look. The famous look she used to give him all those years ago when they’d been happily married. That blissful window of time.

Settling into the pilot’s seat, she made a few adjustments. “Seat warmers and coolers? You certainly know the way to a pilot’s heart,” a small tease. It was good. To distract herself from her worry over those students. Stars, was it her fault? What if they’d been hurt or worse?

In no time , she had them airborn. Flying was like breathing underwater for her. Just came naturally. “How’re you since the wedding?”

 

[Judah Dashiell]

"No, we won't."

Eyes rolled at 'the look' as if it was going bully him into action. Of course it worked when they were married, they lived together. Now he could easily retreat into a space all of his own. Still, if push came to shove, he would simply take the credits then transfer them back to her. Two could play this game.

As she settled into the pilots chair, he busied himself being the co-pilot. He diverted power away from non-essential systems to focus on their radars and sensors, trying to stretch them out to find these two kids. Glittering ocean was underneath them, presenting another problem ; if the kids crashed currents could take away any debris that would indicate where their exact location was.

"Only the best. I've had this thing since almost as long as Makai has been alive, its been aging well."

Regular maintenance helped. Plus, he couldn't take it around often. Most times he was in Salacia transports due to the nature of his work.

"I've been fine, just working. So nothing unusual." Judah paused to tweak a sensor. "What about you?"

Thessa Kai

 

[Thessa Kai]

"Are you ever going to retire?" She asked with a quiet laugh, already suspecting the answer. "And I"ve been...alright." Iced-azure gaze cut across the controls and the expanse of sparkling ocean beneath them. It was a clear, bright day with some darker clouds on the horizon. Probably the typical summer afternoon showers.

She could see the chain of islands up ahead and even from here the navigation was starting to twitch.

A sigh as she brought them lower. "Mom and Dad aren't doing well. One fell and the other's memory problems are progressing. But they're both still in good spirits. The flight school has been keeping me busy sans crisis and every now and then I"ll hear a snippet from one of my brothers on Gala. It would be nice if one day, war wasn't all over that place."

She wanted to go back and visit. Eventually.

"There," she pointed, bringing the ship lower still. "I think that's a good spot to set down. We might need to explore the islands on foot for any clues."

 

[Judah Dashiell]

"I'm barely in my fifties, what is there to retire from? What would I do in my free time? Fish? Bother you? No, too much free time for me is just dangerous."

His mind wandered too much. Judah considered himself far too restless to be sitting around all day. Or even being in the boat day after day fishing. That was nice for a week or two, but not long-term. Not at the moment. Maybe in fifteen or twenty years he would consider it again.

"Makai and Myra just left from there. They took all the kids in the family. Took your parents too. Unfortunately that's when some more of the war struck and the village was wiped out. Makai wants to move them away, you should talk and see and brainstorm. Maybe the family can move back down this way with you. It would be easy to set up and moving the fishing company your brothers have back this way. Ceto has plenty to harvest."

Vessel set down, the humidity hit him again as they walked down the ramp. Ocean eyes scanned the area, curious.

"What makes you think this is it? This island? You normally pass through here? Or land here? Looks like folks have landed here before."

Thessa Kai

 

[Thessa Kai]

"Mom and Dad are already here in the retirement community a few clicks away from where I live." She winced she he talked about Makai going there. Gala was unstable and unsafe. But Makai was an adult now and he had the freedom to do what he wanted.

"How do you do it?" She whispered as she followed him outside into the sweltering heat. The island was a decent size. Looked like a small hilly interior with forest and potentially even a burbling stream. A beach around the edges. She'd landed on an expanse of beach on the South and it was low tide, she they had to watch the time they spent here.

"Just not worry about Makai so much when he goes out into the verse?" All the danger out there.

"And no, this is restricted space. But you're right. It looks like others have landed here. Please tell me you're still decent with a blaster," one of her hands fell to her sidearm even though she didn't unholster it.

 

[Judah Dashiell]

"Why are you whispering? Its just us."

Judah looked around the area, trying to decide which direction they should head in. Perhaps they should have split up ; one by boat, one by air. He could have easily boated while she flew his ship. Ears were trying to pick up on anything beyond the sound of the ocean waves and tropical birds high in the trees. He was doing his best to keep an ear out for sounds not of nature.

"Oh, well I just put it out of my mind that he's Myra's problem."

The older salvager chuckled at his own joke. If his daughter-in-law was here, he knew she would appreciate the humor. Thessa Kai most likely would not appreciate, so he had to continue explaining.

"I think Danger Arceneau had some Noghri guards tail him during university, since that was truly his first time living for a long period away from me. I imagine that stopped, if that makes you feel better. Most days I just remind myself that he is twenty-five and not five, and he's been raised well enough to make good decisions. Do I still worry? Of course, but I can't let that paralyze him or me from living life."

 

[Thessa Kai]

A light, playful smack against his upper arm as he questioned her whispering. “Because I’m sure Makai’s ears are burning as his parents talk about him.”

And that was a tidbit of information she hadn’t known about Danger. Thessa was thankful for the other woman’s involvement in the Dashiell family. “This is what our parents must feel like all the time.” Head shook lightly at the irony. She couldn’t imagine going through what her parents had. All her children fighting in a war.

“But you’re right. We still have to live life.”

Watching the line where the beach met jungle, she pointed. “Those look like footsteps to you heading into the jungle?”

 

[Judah Dashiell]

“Because I’m sure Makai’s ears are burning as his parents talk about him.”

"He's on his honeymoon, I'm positive there's only one thing on his mind right now"

Judah chuckled, shaking his head at his ex-wife. If Makai was worried about either of them in this moment, he would be concerned. Shoulders shrugged at the mention of his parents. His father had died when Judah was in his late twenties, and his mother had passed while Makai was at university. He had a younger sister, but she and her family were working on the hyperlanes, taking up the same trade their mother had before she was married and became a farm wife.

"I suppose. Never really asked."

Ezra Dashiell was about hardwork, not so much feelings and discussing them.

At the urging of Thessa Kai , he looked down at the tracks and then squatted. Brows furrowed as he looked up and down, trying to figure out where they came from.

"It does, lighter person too...so maybe a kid or woman. They are wearing shoes....toe is pointing that way" Judah made a vague gesture ahead. "Come on, lets go."

No blaster on him, it didn't matter as he kept his head down, following the footsteps. They had to be fresh considering the wind and sea spray wouldn't keep prints for long.

 

[Thessa Kai]

"He's on his honeymoon, I'm positive there's only one thing on his mind right now"

Thessa laughed for a moment.

"Good point."

Her expression shifted back to solemnity. Her free hand reached out and gently took a hold of Judah's arm, slipping in front of him as she unholstered her blaster. She knew it would drive him nuts but the thing was? She was armed so there was no way in kriff she was letting him risk himself first. Even if she moved a little slower in the uneven sand with her old injury.

Iced-azure gaze kept a keen eye on the path just ahead and the jungle. Head tilted, listening for any sounds that shouldn't have been there. So far, nothing. She saw the path weaved toward a small bubbling river. It would be hard to hear anything off as they got closer to that water.

She'd never been on this island before and the canopy above had obscured anything they might've seen in the air.

 

[Judah Dashiell]

"What are you doing? Are you crazy? Why would I let you go in front?"

Judah frowned, upset. He wasn't worried about being shot, if firing happened he counted on Thessa Kai using him as a shield or some kind of block to get them out of a tight spot. With her in front, he wasn't sure if she got hit they would have enough time to respond and fire back. Not that he was expecting to be shot at.

Between the waves and the river, hearing was next to impossible.

"What makes you think they are here?"

As he spoke, Judah was working to overtake her on the path and be slightly in front. It wasn't a hard task given her mobility from the old injury, giving her a look of, I don't think so, as he passed. Stubborn mermaids.

 

[Thessa Kai]

Stubborn Dashiell.

The Galan gave him a look right back, finding it unfair that he could simply outstride her. "Stubborn Dashiell man," she quipped behind his back. "I might be older but I'm not afraid to tackle you to the ground." He wouldn't see it but she had a small smile on her aqua lips.

Even if she felt a huff of indignation at his alphamale-itude.

"The foot prints. This is close to their last coordinates. I don't know if they're here but I figured we might find a clue. But the way this place is off limits and messes with instruments? The way its covered from above?" Eyes lifted to the lush green canopy above them.

"If I were smugglers or pirates this would be a good place to set up shop. Speaking of...we should really watch out for..." and that's when Judah's boot hit something hidden beneath the sand and a giant net engulfed the pair to tug them high up into the trees.

Thessa found herself a tangle of limbs smacked against Judah. His face was...well this was awkward, buried in her chest,

"Traps," she groaned.

 

[Judah Dashiell]

"Please, you couldn't tackle me. Maybe hang off my back like a little parasite."

Judah rolled his eyes, despite Thessa Kai not being able to see him do so. He listened to her reason for choosing the island and they were all solid. It made sense to him - he wasn't sure why if these kids crashed they didn't stay on the open beach. It would have been easier to see them, especially if they had used old metal or mirrors to reflect the bright sun.

"...lots of pirates out thi-"

Reply was swiftly cut off, finding himself in a net with his ex-wife. It took a moment to realized he was face planted right smack dab into her chest. Not like it was the first time that happened. There was laughter as he slowly found the netting with his hands and used them for leverage to push back slightly. He was a bit further away now - his voice wouldn't be muffled.

"Still look as great as I remember."

More laughter despite their situation. He paused, thinking of what he had on him.

"My lighter is in my front pocket. Is this real rope? Can we burn through it? Can you even reach my pocket?"

 

[Thessa Kai]

"It's nice hearing you compare me to a parasite," she huffed beneath him, the net digging into her back. But stars if those Dashiell curls framing his face as he looked down on her didn't send her heart fluttering like a wild bird in her chest. And that laugh. That's what really got her.

It made a mirrored smile curl on her own iced-azure mouth.

There was something sharp digging into her hip. Must've been her blaster. The way she was twisted up, she couldn't get it, though. A small grunt as she tried to tug one hand free. It was encircling Judah's back. Her other was wedged solidly between the net and her body and there wasn't enough space to move that one.

"One second," her fingers dragged along his back and ribcage, drifting upward across his chest.

A breathy laughter.

"I promise I'm not trying to feel you up, honey. But stars, have you been working out?" A small shift of her shoulder as her fingers made it to his pocket. She didn't know if it was rope but hopefully it would be worth trying.

 

[Judah Dashiell]

"Wow, you did not feel me up this much when we were married."

Judah rolled his eyes as he tried to brace against the rope and push out a little. If anything, it was trying to give them a little room to maneuver and get out of this situation. Being smacked together and trying to get out of this wasn't working in the slightest. As his hands pushed against the netting, trying to give them some space.

"Work out?Yeah,three days a week. Just trying to cancel out the smoking. Plus, I never know if I have to take up salvaging again....I do it from time to time to keep myself sharp."

He could hear his lighter flick open and wished he had a much cooler addiction - like a knife in the boot or some kind of weird ring that doubled as a cutting device. Quiet stretched between them as he didn't want to distract Thessa Kai while she tried to burn them free. Yet the sounds of them trying to break free wasn't the only thing he heard.

"Does it sound like people talking in the distance to you?"

 

[Thessa Kai]

"Of course I did. How do you think Makai was conceived?"

She still smiled though but narrowed her eyes as her arm stretched behind him, keeping the fire upon the synthetic ropes. A burning smell reached her nose but it definitely was something more like chemicals.

"Glad you're keeping yourself sharp," eyes flickered from her work back to his face. Lingered there a moment too long and then went back as the flame went through one rope. It was taking longer than she thought it would. She frowned at his next comment and tried looking out. But she could only see the level of the treeline they'd been pulled to. Nothing on the ground below or what was coming.

A couple voices. All male and smug sounding. This wasn't good.

"Can you see or reach my blaster?"